Trump is holding off-the-record meetings about a possible 2024 bid with top donors that have included conversations about UFC and a country star's take on vaccines, report says

• Trump is holding informal, off-the-record dinners with donors and supporters, Politico reported.
• The dinners are meant to give Trump feedback as he mulls a 2024 bid, the outlet added.

Former President Donald Trump is holding informal, off-the-record meetings around the country with top donors and supporters as he mulls a 2024 presidential bid, Politico reported.

The informal meetings, coordinated through Trump's Save America PAC, are not intended to solicit donations but "to get Trump in front of a kitchen cabinet of supporters who, in an easy-going environment," can provide feedback as he considers a 2024 run, Politico said.

In a recent New York Times and Siena College poll of Republicans, half of respondents said they wanted someone other than Trump to be the GOP nominee in 2024. But Trump still led a hypothetical GOP primary field, with 49% of the vote, followed by Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida at 25%. Other candidates trailed in the single digits.

Trump backed off his plans to announce a 2024 bid before July 4 but still wants to announce before the 2022 midterms, possibly in September, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

An announcement before the midterms could limit Trump's fundraising prospects, which may undermine the GOP in November and wouldn't help Trump stave off scrutiny from prosecutors, Insider's Kimberly Leonard and C. Ryan Barber previously reported.

Attendees of the informal dinners have advised Trump to refocus his message away from his grievances and toward policy if he runs again, Politico reported.

Some of the dinner conversations have strayed away from politics, Politico reported. In Las Vegas, where the Trump-backed Nevada Senate candidate Adam Laxalt and the state's gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo were in attendance, the group talked about the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the outlet added.

And at a dinner in Nashville, Tennessee, Trump and the Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker "looked on" as Sen. Lindsey Graham and the country-music singer John Rich engaged in a tense and prolonged back-and-forth over the coronavirus vaccines, Politico reported, with Graham saying that Trump should take credit for the development of the vaccines on the campaign trail.

Rich opposed the vaccines, Politico added, and joked that he should buy a property in South Carolina to mount a primary challenge against Graham.